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Phoenix pays $2.8M to family of boy hit crossing street mid-block after exiting city bus

At about 9 p.m. on May 1, 2010, a teenage boy exited a city bus in south Phoenix and began to cross Baseline Road mid-block.

In a matter of minutes, his life would be forever altered.

There was no crosswalk near where they boy had been dropped off. He began walking across Baseline Road near 27th Street and had started to cross to the other side of the street's median when he was struck by a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser.

According to court documents, the boy suffered a catastrophic brain injury and permanent physical injuries. He now requires the use of a wheelchair and will need significant medical care for the rest of his life.

His mother, Claudette Rushing, sued Phoenix — not the driver who struck her son. This week, the Phoenix City Council approved a settlement agreement to award Rushing $2.8 million.

In her lawsuit, Rushing accused the city of failing to follow its own Pedestrian Safety Action Plan and the U.S. Department of Transportation Pedestrian Safety Guide for Transit Agencies.

The lawsuit alleges Phoenix should have provided a marked crosswalk or pedestrian crossing island to ensure pedestrians could safely cross Baseline Road at that location, or the city should have placed the bus stop near an existing crossing area.

Phoenix public transit spokesman Lars Jacoby said his department participated in the investigation into the conditions in and around the area after the 2010 collision and "found that the bus stop was in compliance with both city and federal guidelines for placement and location."

Council documents did not indicate why the city decided to pay the settlement.

When Rushing first filed the lawsuit in 2011, attorneys for Phoenix attempted to place partial blame on the driver who hit the boy. But Rushing's attorneys rebuffed the accusation.

"In fact, as evidence has developed, he is also a victim of the city's negligence just like (Rushing's son) was," Rushing's attorney wrote in court documents.

Rushing initially filed a lawsuit against the driver as well but dismissed it as the legal battle with the city continued on.

The $2.8 million awarded to Rushing by the council is a fraction of the $6.7 million listed in court documents as the cost of the boy's current and future medical expenses.

Rushing and her attorney could not be reached for comment. The Arizona Republic is not using the victim's name because he was a minor at the time of the incident. He has a different last name than his mother.

Monica Hernandez, spokeswoman for the Phoenix streets department, said the city has installed "NO PEDESTRIAN CROSSING" signs at the location where the boy was hit.

The settlement comes on the heels of a new report by the national Governors Highway Safety Association that shows Arizona has the highest rate of pedestrian deaths in the nation.

In 2017, 224 pedestrians died in Arizona, up from 197 in 2016, according to the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety.